Susan H. Schulman visits

On 12 December, Tony-nominated director Susan H. Schulman, who led the librettists workshop at the BMI Lehman Engel Workshop for many years and is now head of the post-grad musical theatre directing programme at Penn State, will be sitting in on the composer/ lyricist workshop and speaking at the librettist workshop.

Writers' Guild 'New Writing Encouragement Awards'

On 25 November, the Theatre Committee of the WGGB presented their seventh annual awards for the encouragement of new writing at a lunch ceremony at the Royal Court Theatre, and DAVID JAMES and the BML Workshop won one of six awards. The other winners were Dyslexia Scotland, , Paul Milton (Cheltenham Everyman), Network Theatre, Elizabeth Newman (Octagon Theatre, Bolton) and Natalie Wilson (Theatre Centre). Mark Shenton wrote about the event at length in his blog (http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/shenton/2011/12/encouraging-writers-discouraging-press/index.html). 

Working with Nigel Richards

On 10 October,  international musical theatre performer Nigel Richards came to conduct a session of the Composer/ lyricist Workshop, speaking on 'Acting through song', and critiquing several songs from the Workshop.

Members activities, autumn 2011

In September, DreamArts' production of 'Carnival' (book by GRAHAM WHITLOCK [BML librettist/ lyricist] and DreamArts members, music and lyrics by Wayne Roberts [non-member] and DreamArts members) had runs at both the Cockpit Theatre and the Tabernacle in London. It had an additional performance in October in the Linbury Studio at the Royal Opera House.

RUTH CARTER (BML librettist) wrote the book for 'Steps', a forty minute musical, with music and lyrics by Jennifer Green (non-member), which was performed at the Waterloo East theatre.

DAVID JAMES was invited to speak on a panel on musicals at the Royal Shakespeare Festival in Stratford upon Avon with Jeanie O'Hare (commissioning dramaturg for the RSC) and Dennis Kelly (librettist for 'Matilda').

'Butcher: The Irresistible Fall and Inimitable Rise of Fred Barnes, Birmingham's Musical Star' by CARL MILLER (BML librettist/ lyricist), with music by CHRIS ASH (BML composer), had a rehearsed reading at the Birmingham Rep in October.